Safety switch having improved operating mechanism and interlock means

ABSTRACT

A generally U-shaped driving member has a first leg portion pivotally mounted on a bracket secured to a side wall of an openfront box and a second leg portion pivotally associated with a base member formed of insulating material and mounted on a rear wall of the box. An operating handle is pivotally mounted between the bracket and the side wall and is provided with a tang extending through an arcuate slot in the bracket. A tension spring is connected at one end to the tang of the handle and at the other end to a bight portion of the U-shaped driving member. The first leg portion of the driving member has a tang extending through a slot in the bracket into an aperture provided in the handle. An interlock member is reciprocally mounted between the bracket and the side wall and driven by the tang of the handle. The second leg portion of the driving member is provided with a slot in which a driving boss of a blade actuator pivotally mounted in the base member is received.

United States Patent 1191 Rys [451 Apr. 22, 1975 .1 SAFETY SWITCH HAVINGIMPROVED OPERATING MECHANISM AND INTERLOCK MEANS [75] Inventor: TadeuszJ. Rys, Monroe, Ohio [73] Assignee: Square D Company, Park Ridge, Ill.22 Filed: Mar. 2, 1973 Y 21 Appl. No.: 337,328

[52] US. Cl 200/50 A [51] Int. Cl. H01H 9/22 [58] Field of Search 200/50A, 153 G, 294, 302; 317/120 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3.240.888 3/1966 Rys et al. 200/50 A 3.339.047 8/1967 Rys et al.....ZOO/5O A X 3,629,536 12/1971 Rys ZOO/5O A X 3,678,230 7/1972 Rys ZOO/5OA Primary Examiner-James R. Scott Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Harold J.Rathbun; Ernest S. Kettelson; Paul J. Rose 5 7 ABSTRACT A generallyU-shaped driving member has a first leg portion pivotally mounted on abracket secured to a side wall of an open-front box and a second legportion pivotally associated with a base member formed of insulatingmaterial and mounted on a rear wall of the box. An operating handle ispivotally mounted between the bracket and the side wall and is providedwith a tang extending through an arcuate slot in the bracket. A tensionspring is connected at one end to the tang of the handle and at theother end to a bight portion of the U-shaped driving member. The firstleg portion of the driving member has a tang extending through a slot inthe bracket into an aperture provided in the handle. An interlock memberis reciprocally mounted between the bracket and the side wall and drivenby the tang of the handle. The second leg portion of the driving memberis provided with a slot in which a driving boss of a blade actuatorpivotally mounted in the base member is received.

6 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR221975 snmanrg 4.2 lillqga FIG.5

FIG.6

PATENTEUAPRZZIHYS FIG.8

\ IIIIII FIG.9

FIG. IO

SAFETY SWITCH HAVING IMPROVED OPERATING MECHANISM AND INTERLOCK MEANSThis invention relates generally to safety switches, and moreparticularly to operating mechanisms therefor.

An object of the invention is to provide a safety switch having animproved, simple, inexpensive operating mechanism, with fewer parts thanformer operating mechanisms have, while still retaining the feature ofquick-make, quick-break contacts.

Another object is to provide a simple handle-cover interlock means inassociation with the improved operating mechanism.

These and other objects will appear when the following specification isconsidered along with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a safety switch constructed inaccordance with the invention, an operating handle thereof being shownin an OFF position;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the safety switch of FIG. 1, a front coverthereof being fragmentarily shown in an open position and the operatinghandle being shown in an ON position;

FIG. 3 is a right-hand side view of the safety switch of FIG. 1, aportion of a side wall being broken away;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the operating handle inthe ON position;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along the line5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along the line 66of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along the line7-7 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken generally along the line 88of FIG. 2, certain parts being omitted;

FIG. 9 is a right-hand side view of an insulating base and bladeactuator of the safety switch of FIG. 1, taken in the direction ofarrows 99 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the blade actuator of the safety switchof FIG. 1, including one full blade and a portion of another blade; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a driving member for the blade actuatorof the safety switch of FIG. 1.

With reference to the drawings, a safety switch constructed inaccordance with the invention is shown in FIGS. l-4. The switch 20includes an open-front box 22 having a flanged front cover 23 pivotallyconnected to a left-hand side wall 22a thereof. A formed plate member 24is secured to the inner surface of a righthand side wall 22b of the boxby a pair of rivets 25. The side wall 22b is formed with an outwardlyoffset central pocket portion 220 best shown in FIG. 1, and cut away inFIGS. 3 and 4. An operating handle 27 is disposed on the inner side ofthe pocket portion 220 and pivotally mounted on a pin 28 supportedadjacent opposite ends respectively in the plate member 24 and in thepocket portion 22c.

The plate member 24 projects forwardly of a front edge of the side wall22b. To accommodate the plate member 24, the right-hand flange of thecover 23 and the portion'of the cover adjacent thereto are partially cutaway, as best shown in FIG. 1. Further, the cover 23 is also providedwith a suitable slot for receiving a padlock anchoring tongue portion24a of the plate member 24. The tongue portion 24a is provided with anaperture 24b for receiving a padlock when it is desired to lock thecover 23 in closed position. The plate member 24 is provided with anaperture 240 in a portion thereof adjacent the tongue portion 24a, andthe operating handle 27 is provided with an aperture 27a aligned withthe aperture 240 in an OFF position of the handle, as shown in FIG. 3,for receiving a padlock when it is desired to lock the handle 27 in theOFF position.

The plate member 24 is provided with an arcuate slot 24a through which asheared and bent tang 27b (FIG. 2) of the handle 27 extends. Aninterlock member 30 is reciprocally mounted between the handle 27 andthe plate member 24 and is provided with a suitable aperture (not shown)through which the tang 27b extends. The plate member 24 is formed toguide the interlock member 30 in movement upwardly and downwardly in thenormal position of the safety switch 20, the member 30 being drivenupwardly by the tang 27b when the handle 27 is moved to an ON positionand downwardly when the handle 27 is moved to the OFF position. Themember 30 is so shaped as to provide a latching portion 30a whichoverlies a portion of the cover 23 when the handle 27 is in the ONposition, as shown in FIG. 4.

A base member 32 formed of insulating material is secured to a rear wall22d of the box 22 by a pair of screws 33. A blade actuator 34 (FIG. 10)having a pair of switching blades 36 captively mounted therein ismounted in the base member 32 from the rear thereof for limited pivotalmovement. A main crossbar portion 34a of the actuator 34 drives theblades 36 to an OFF position, and boss portions 34b and 34c respectivelydrive the blades to an ON position by engagement with transverselylanced portions 36a (FIG. 2) thereof. As hereinafter explained, theactuator 34 is driven at a cylindrical boss portion 34d (FIGS. 6 and 9)disposed at the right-hand end portion thereof.

Secured by rivets to the base member 32 are a pair of combination fuseclip and load terminal members 38 (FIGS. 2 and 7), a pair of combinationfuse clip and blade mounting members 40 (FIGS. 2 and 6), and a pair ofcombination line terminal and stationary contact jaw members 42 (FIGS. 2and 5). The blades 36 are pivotally mounted respectively on the members40. A neutral wire connector bar 43 (FIGS. 2 and 7), which maybeconstructed in accordance with US. Pat. No. 3,426,319, is secured to thebase member 32 by a screw 44.

A right-hand end portion of the base member 32 is provided with a recess32a (FIGS. 6 and 9) and the plate member 24 is provided with acylindrical extrusion 24:: (FIGS. 24) extending inwardly of the box 22for the mounting of a generally U-shaped driving member 46. The member46 includes a first leg portion 46a having an arcuate recess 46badjacent a free end thereof in which the cylindrical extrusion 24e isreceived, a second leg portion 46c having a cylindrical extrusion 46ddisposed adjacent a free end thereof and received in the recess 32a, anda bight portion 46e provided with a lanced portion 46f. A rear endportion of a tension spring 48 is anchored on the lanced portion 46f anda front end portion of the tension spring is anchored on the tang 27b.The plate member 24 includes a lanced portion 24f confining the legportion 46a. A sheared and bent tang 46g extends from the leg portion46a into an aperture 270 in the handle 27. The leg portion 460 adjacentthe base member 32 is provided with a slot 46h in which the cylindricalboss portion 34d is received.

When the handle 27 is moved away from the OFF position of FIG. 3 towardthe ON position of FIG. 4, the tang 27b moves the front end portion ofthe spring 48 upwardly and a portion of the handle defining the aperture27c engages the tang 46g and moves it upwardly to pivot the drivingmember 46 and thus also move the rear end portion of the spring 48upwardly. When the line of action of the spring 48 gets above thepivotal axis of the driving member 46 defined by the center of theextrusion 242 and the center of the extrusion 46d, the spring contractsand moves the handle 27 the rest of the way to the ON position and thedriving member 46 the rest of the way to the position of FIG. 4 with asnap action. The tang 27b moves the interlock member 40 toa lockingposition with respect to the cover 23, and the portion of the leg 46cdefining the slot 46h moves the boss portion 34d to the position of FIG.9 to pivot the blade actuator 34 and blades 36 to the ON position with aquick-mate action relative to the stationary contact jaw portions of themembers 42. The reverse operation is readily apparent.

The handle 27 drives both the spring 48 and the driving member 46, andboth ends of the spring 48 move, whereby the line of action thereof whenthe handle 27 is in the ON position is substantially parallel to theline of action thereof when the handle 27 is in the OFF position.

Various modifications may be made in the structure shown and describedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A safety switch comprising an open-front box ineluding a rear walland a pair of opposite side walls, a

plate member secured to one of the side walls on an inner side thereof,an operating handle including a rear end portion disposed between theplate member and the one side wall. Means mounting the operating handleat the rear end portion thereof for pivotal movement with respect to theplate member and the one side wall'to ON and OFF positions, a cover,means mounting the cover at a front edge portion of the other of theside walls for pivotal movement with respect to the box to open andclosed positions, a base member of insulating material secured to therear wall of the box, a blade actuator, means mounting the bladeactuator for pivotal movement with respect to the base member, a switchblade, means mounting the switch blade for pivotal movement with respectto the base member to ON and OFF positions, means operatively connectingthe switch blade to the blade actuator, a stationary contact membermounted in the box and engaged by the switch blade in the ON positionthereof, a generally U-shaped driving member including a bight portion,a first leg portion, and a second leg portion, means mounting the firstleg portion adjacent a free end for pivotal movement with respect to theplate member, means mounting the second leg portion adjacent a free endfor pivotal movement with respect to the base member, means operativelyconnecting the second leg portion to the blade actuator, and a tensionspring secured adjacent one end to the bight portion of the drivingmember and adjacent the other end to the operating handle.

2. A safety switch as claimed in claim 1 including means operativelyconnecting the first leg portion of the driving member to the operatinghandle.

3. A safety switch as claimed in claim 1 wherein the plate member isprovided with a slot, the operating handle is provided with a bent tangextending through the slot in the plate member, and the spring issecured to the tang on the operating handle.

4. A safety switch as claimed in claim 3 including an interlock membermounted between the operating handle and the plate member for reciprocalmovement parallel to the rear wall of the box, the interlock memberhaving an aperture through which the tang of the operating handleextends and having a latching portion latching the cover when the coveris in the closed position and the operating handle is in the ONposition.

5. A safety switch as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second leg portionof the driving member is provided with a slot and the blade actuator isprovided with a boss portion extending into the slot in the second legportion of the driving member.

6. A safety switch as claimed in claim 1 wherein the operating handle isprovided with an aperture, the plate member is provided with a lancedportion confining the first leg portion of the driving member, and thefirst leg portion of the driving member is provided with a bent tangextending into the aperture in the operating handle.

1. A safety switch comprising an open-front box including a rear walland a pair of opposite side walls, a plate member secured to one of theside walls on an inner side thereof, an operating handle including arear end portion disposed between the plate member and the one sidewall. Means mounting the operating handle at the rear end portionthereof for pivotal movement with respect to the plate member and theone side wall to ON and OFF positions, a cover, means mounting the coverat a front edge portion of the other of the side walls for pivotalmovement with respect to the box to open and closed positions, a basemember of insulating material secured to the rear wall of the box, ablade actuator, means mounting the blade actuator for pivotal movementwith respect to the base member, a switch blade, means mounting theswitch blade for pivotal movement with respect to the base member to ONand OFF positions, means operatively connecting the switch blade to theblade actuator, a stationary contact member mounted in the box andengaged by the switch blade in the ON position thereof, a generallyU-shaped driving member including a bight portion, a first leg portion,and a second leg portion, means mounting the first leg portion adjacenta free end for pivotal movement with respect to the plate member, meansmounting the second leg portion adjacent a free end for pivotal movementwith respect to the base member, means operatively connecting the secondleg portion to the blade actuator, and a tension spring secured adjacentone end to the bight portion of the driving member and adjacent theother end to the operating handle.
 1. A safety switch comprising anopen-front box including a rear wall and a pair of opposite side walls,a plate member secured to one of the side walls on an inner sidethereof, an operating handle including a rear end portion disposedbetween the plate member and the one side wall. Means mounting theoperating handle at the rear end portion thereof for pivotal movementwith respect to the plate member and the one side wall to ON and OFFpositions, a cover, means mounting the cover at a front edge portion ofthe other of the side walls for pivotal movement with respect to the boxto open and closed positions, a base member of insulating materialsecured to the rear wall of the box, a blade actuator, means mountingthe blade actuator for pivotal movement with respect to the base member,a switch blade, means mounting the switch blade for pivotal movementwith respect to the base member to ON and OFF positions, meansoperatively connecting the switch blade to the blade actuator, astationary contact member mounted in the box and engaged by the switchblade in the ON position thereof, a generally U-shaped driving memberincluding a bight portion, a first leg portion, and a second legportion, means mounting the first leg portion adjacent a free end forpivotal movement with respect to the plate member, means mounting thesecond leg portion adjacent a free end for pivotal movement with respectto the base member, means operatively connecting the second leg portionto the blade actuator, and a tension spring secured adjacent one end tothe bight portion of the driving member and adjacent the other end tothe operating handle.
 2. A safety switch as claimed in claim 1 includingmeans operatively connecting the first leg portion of the driving memberto the operating handle.
 3. A safety switch as claimed in claim 1wHerein the plate member is provided with a slot, the operating handleis provided with a bent tang extending through the slot in the platemember, and the spring is secured to the tang on the operating handle.4. A safety switch as claimed in claim 3 including an interlock membermounted between the operating handle and the plate member for reciprocalmovement parallel to the rear wall of the box, the interlock memberhaving an aperture through which the tang of the operating handleextends and having a latching portion latching the cover when the coveris in the closed position and the operating handle is in the ONposition.
 5. A safety switch as claimed in claim 1 wherein the secondleg portion of the driving member is provided with a slot and the bladeactuator is provided with a boss portion extending into the slot in thesecond leg portion of the driving member.